It’s something I love to order in restaurants but I’ve never made. We went camping and our Italian friend made risotto on a camp stove. I figure if she can make it out in the wild I should be able to make it in my kitchen.
I have arbolio rice, asparagus and pancetta. What else do I need? Any tips?
It’s surprisingly easy, just a little time-consuming. Any of the zillions of risotto cooking recipes on the web will get you going. They’re all the same - sautée the rice in olive oil for a few minutes, then add broth to just barely cover (optionally add wine and cook off first). Cook off the broth while stirring occassionally until it’s very low, then add another ladle. Rinse and repeat for about 20-25 minutes until you feel it’s just on the verge of being done (chewy), then remove from heat. The residual heat will continue to cook the rice for a few more minutes. Add additional stock and cheese and olive oil if you like at the very end to finish.
Carnaroli and Vialone Nano rice are more forgiving and reheat better than Arborio when you’re ready to go for your second batch.
Do you have an instant pot? It couldn’t be easier in that thing. I was never good at getting the rice done just right, this thing is like magic.
You need chicken broth and I’d say an onion.
I make both red and white risotto in the instapot… Red is a bolognese and white is a shrimp. They could not be easier in the instapot. And I definitely use wine in the second step.
I have an instapot but I want to try to make it on the stovetop.
My only other tip is to be cautious about adding salt early on if you’re using homemade broth. You’ll basically be adding a quart or two or three of liquid - whether that’s broth, tomatoes, whatever. The broth gets all soaked into the rice (I think risotto absorbs 2-3x their weight in liquid) and concentrated, so any flavor gets very concentrated, including salt.
The first couple times I made risotto it ended up a little too salty because I added salt like I usually do to any dish, not appreciating that the water would mostly cook off and leave the concentrated liquid behind. Anyway, relax and give it a whirl. At the end of the day it’s just rice - it’s really hard to screw it up.
The best risotto I have ever made was in my instapot.
ETA: just read the OP is for whatever reason opposed to doing it in the instapot. Insert Gilda Radner’s “Never mind.” 
I made risotto last night on the stove top… I used one carton of Swanson organic chicken broth, one organic onion, butter, olive oil, and one cup risotto. Sauté the onion in 2 tbsbutter/ olive oil until translucent, add the rice, sauté 3 minutes but don’t let it get brown. The key is to have your broth simmering the entire time, add it one cup at a time and stir constantly until rice looks dry’ish, then add the next cup. This should take about 25 minutes. Be patient because there is a definite urge to dump in the broth at the end but don’t do it! Add Parmesan cheese or whatever else you like at the end.
Made this one a couple of weeks ago. Delicious. https://www.google.com/amp/www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/trisha-yearwood/mushroom-asparagus-and-pea-risotto-3676800.amp
I love mushrooms in risotto, but this time of year fresh sweet corn is a great addition. And definitely parmesan.
Ina Garten has some good recipes.
I love the whole process of making risotto, especially stirring in the broth a little at a time. It’s almost meditative. That being said, this isn’t a dish you make when you are pressed for time.
I made it tonight. I think I over cooked it but my H thought it was perfect. It wasn’t as good as our Italian friend made but it was good not delicious. I think it could have had more flavor. Our friend made it with fresh porcini mushrooms.
@Nrdsb4 I’m not necessarily opposed to making it in the instapot but I want to be able to make it decently on the stovetop.
i don’t know how often I would make risotto as we don’t eat a lot of starchy carbs. I think I’ll go back to reserving risotto as something I order at a special meal out. I am glad I tried making it.
Google oven baked risottos, I suspect much like the instant pot, it takes the tedium out of the stovetop liquid adding part.
Those from the old country say to briefly sauté the rice in a small amount of oil, then add about a half a cup of white wine. It disappears rapidly. At this time add a ladle of broth and when it cooks in then add another and so on. The key to proper rice texture is to slowly add the broth. The only way I can make it through this process is to stand by the stove while I am enjoying a glass of wine…
"Risotto is a traditional Italian rice dish made from a short-grained, starchy variety of rice called arborio rice. The technique for making it is called the risotto method, which involves stirring small amounts of hot stock or broth into the rice a little at a time, allowing the liquid to be absorbed. While it cooks, the rice releases its starch, giving the risotto a rich, creamy consistency.
Like pasta, risotto is cooked al dente, which means that it should be slightly firm to the bite —"
“I think I’ll go back to reserving risotto as something I order at a special meal out.”
Maybe I’ve had bad luck but in this country I’ve had more poor to mediocre restaurant risotto then good to great restaurant risotto.
This is where the type of rice makes a big difference. Arborio has a very small window where it hits just the right texture, then it quickly passes into overcooked territory. Carnaroli and Vialoni Nano have much bigger windows where the rice will hold at that perfect stage. In most restaurants in the US you’re likely eating Carnaroli and not Arborio.
Flavor is like anything else - GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). You need a flavorful broth or other good ingredients to have flavorful risotto. If you’re going to eat it as a standalone dish, IMHO you need to be especially careful on what goes in. When you pair it with a protein, you can do a more plain risotto and let the protein take center stage or add variety.
Anyway don’t give up! Take another shot at it with Carnaroli and don’t be afraid to add additional ingredients or spices that you think will kick it up a notch. I usually cook risotto in a big batch. When it’s done I pull out just enough for that night’s dinner and add olive oil and fresh Parmesan cheese, a little extra broth, and salt to taste. That last finishing step helps a lot.
I too have always wanted to make risotto but found it daunting. I really appreciate all these tips! I don’t have an insta pot but I think I’ll start with the other types of rice mentioned above.
@anomander thank you for the encouragement. I’ll look for the other type of rice. I’ll also try adding good olive oil and salt at the end.
I did what @Kajon mentioned. I first sautéed the onions in a mix of butter and olive oil, next added the rice and sautéed before adding the white wine. After that absorbed I began adding the warm broth. I didn’t have any homemade stock on hand so used a box low sodium chicken broth. Aside from the box stock I used high quality ingredients.The recipe I used called for cooking the thicker ends of the asparagus which I puréed in the food processor with a bit of water. I added it in near the end of the cooking. I’m not sure if I liked that. I added butter and a bit of cream at the end. I didn’t add salt since I’m pretty sodium sensitive but I probably should have. Added Parmesan to serve.
@doschicos I have two spots in my town that make a very good risotto. One is a muchroom risotto and the other an asparagus pancetta risotto. Both places are small and owned by Italians.
@mom60 Store-bought chicken stock plus aspargus does sound a little plain just for my personal taste. You could kick that up a notch by adding some pancetta lardons (I’d sautée them first, remove some of the excess oil, then cook the onions in the remaining pancetta oil, then continue from there). I’d add garlic too, for good measure.
Alternatively you could toss in a some chopped heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil in the last 2-3 minutes of cooking. Or consider adding a de-seeded finely-chopped jalapeño at the onion sautée stage or maybe some finely-chopped roasted bell pepper towards the end. All of those will add more layers of flavor.
Anyway, carnaroli is readily available on Amazon if you can’t find it locally. Here’s an example:
https://www.amazon.com/Roland-Carnaroli-Rice-Superfino-Ounce/dp/B001M22SZK/ref=sr_1_6_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1503854360&sr=1-6&keywords=carnaroli%2Brisotto%2Brice&th=1
I did include pancetta that I cooked with the onions. I left it in but I see some recipes take it out and add back in at the end to keep it crisp. I like your other suggestions and I’ll try them. I like the tomato and basil suggestion, both items I had on hand and wish I had thought of.